Get in here my Shakara lovers

Hi guys, I'm sure you all noticed things are being slow around here, I sincerely apologise for that but I'm going to urge you to please bear with me as due to circumstances beyond my control, updates might remain slow till mid January. Honestly I appreciate it each time I see that someone has visited this blog, it motivates me. So from mid January, you guys are going to be getting the best of this blog. For now; keep visiting as I'll be doing my best to update from time to time. Once again, thanks a zillion.

How to make Chapman

     Can you remember the first cocktail you ever had? I still can recall how delightful it was the first time I had Chapman, my very first cocktail...It tasted like magic so much that I couldn't stop wondering what went into it but that was a looooooooong time ago when babes just dey enter puberty. Now though, Shakara done plenty because

Nigerian Beans with Plantain

    One of the many Nigerian food I like is Plantain especially the very ripe ones because I could think of a whole lot to do with them one of which is Beans and

How to break down the gas causing compounds in beans

    I like beans, do you? Yea, don't tell meee; It is common knowledge that Beans causes flatulence and as a result, people including those who checked Beans as favourite food get hesitant when a beans menu is mentioned. Good news is there's a way to get rid of the flatulence causing properties in beans and

Sweet peas with Chicken

    Few posts back, I showed you how to make scrumptious sweet peas; today I cooked some and used Chicken instead of


   beef which was what I  used last time. This time, I used 1 can of plum peeled tomatoes and 1 tablespoon of tomato puree to achieve this nice colour. Other than the mentioned changes and addition, the recipe remains the same. This treat just gets exciting.

  

  

Chicken potatoes in the oven

    For nights in a row, we had this for dinner simply because we couldn't get enough of it; that's how yummy this meal is and even though I didn't marinate the chicken due to lack of time, it came out fantastic. Follow the steps below for an amazing experience.

How to make bread

Tired of store bought breads? You can make your own bread at home where you you will be sure to take control over what goes into it. Below is a basic recipe for bread making.

What you need :

How to cook scrumptious sweet peas

   Not many people like sweet peas, some have termed it boring even in movies, you will see a child grumbling with annoyance over the peas on his plate;I find that so unfair to peas, like beans they don't get much love but we must not blame that on the peas, we should blame the not so interesting cooking methods we've been applying to them.
Sweet peas like the name implies, makes  a delicious dish but depends only on how you cook it. Therefore, if you follow the recipe below for your next sweet peas experience, I'll bet you sweet peas will become your new favourite food.

Home-made fish fingers

   Fish fingers, Chicken fingers, whatever fingers, I love all the fingers even more so when they are home-made. I particularly like how it's all crispy on the outside yet tender inside. I will give two recipes for fish fingers; other than a slight difference in tastes, the end results are the same.

Easy Jollof Twist

   Rice was the only thing I could think of  last night and I knew I just had to have it. Only problem was I wanted it instantly. I had spent the whole day not eating anything other than the mug of lemon tea and a banana I'd had in the morning; I didn't feel like eating anything else until the pangs of hunger hit me  almost at dinner time and all I could see through my hunger stricken eyes was rice; like a zombie, I went about making a quick one and hellz yea, La food, La yummy; La palate, La happy Lol. Read on for the recipe.

Guess who

See if you can guess who this is 

Photo of the day

    Have you ever seen a Yoruba or Hausa  person at the market selling the items in the picture? I've seen some Yorubas and Hausas eat them but never seen them selling Crayfish let alone Ogbono and the likes; If I'd never seen them eat food made from these items, then I could understand but they eat it so, why haven't I ever seen them selling? Mamalette and Co. Oya, edamilohun.

Chicken Meu

  How do you like your chicken? Dry? crispy? soft and juicy? Or...maybe Sticky? I could go on and on because there's just a whole lot of ways to make chicken. One of my favourite chicken recipe is the easy roast and good news is it doesn't require much in terms of ingredients.

Potato chicken stew

  I was a bit unsure about what to cook this evening but I knew that once I got to the kitchen, something was definitely going to come up and it sure did; one look around the kitchen and it hit me like bang! I rustled up some potatoes,vegetables, chicken and made me some delicious chicken stew.

Get in here people, Saytaxi is in town!

     Saytaxi is a taxi app that  connects passengers and drivers together with just 2 clicks of the button. The app uses GPS technology to locate drivers and vice-versa. The app pits the passenger in control in the areas of safety, convenience and time. The passenger sets a price and finds a  driver in less than 3 minutes. Saytaxi is available in Lagos and soon in Abuja. Saytaxi is also available in 23 cities across the world. Saytaxi app is available on Android and iphone. So, get downloading.

Photo of the day

          Snails laid up like these are common sights  in typical Nigerian markets.

You won't need an oven for this fruit cake

     I do not have a sugar tooth but I am a bit addicted to cakes, not the fondant parts though just the fluffy deal itself hehe. That aside, this particular fruity cake has become my current favourite, it's very soft and creamy with fruity flavours, the best part is you don't need an oven to make this. Reading this might make you think the process is a tough one but don't let that intimidate you as it really isn't.

Give yourself a beautiful day

    Happy new week my lovelies, I'm feeling so excited this morning, for no particular reason I must say. Naaah...I didn't just say that. Being alive, waking up to a new day is reason enough to be excited. All my life, I've come across too many people who are so bent over the notion of Monday being the meanest day of the week even I at a point fell for that misconception but I realised that hey, like the rest of the week, it's just another day and everyday comes with it's own promise, everyday does something for us, everyday changes something in our lives  even if we don't see it. I like to start my mornings expecially Mondays with a good blast of music, relishing in the thought of a new day, new posibilities; you never know what the day holds for you even when you think you do. So, if things aren't going as planned, keep a positive attitude, keep that engine revving, make shakara and time will treat you kind. Have yourself a blastic day.

Shakara yam porridge

  Of the various methods of yam cooking, Porridge yam or should I say Asaro happens to be my favourite. Sometime last week, I was crazily craving for some; I went ahead to cook me few slices using the method below and it came out amazing. Sadly though, I didn't get to eat much of it as I would have liked to and that's because a certain person who I'm sure is reading this now ate it all up. Alrighty, let's do this.

How to keep your refrigerator smelling fresh always

    For centuries, man has found different ways to preserve food, from using snow, salting to digging a deep hole in the ground and burying his food in there until he's ready to consume it etc. Modern technology has birthed refrigerator, an appliance which many of us find very convenient but have you ever battled with keeping your refrigerator odour free? It really shouldn't be  a battle and if you read this carefully, you will understand what I mean.
Follow the tips below to keep your refrigerator  fresh:

Blog warming. Yayyyyy!

   Hi beautiful people, I just want to say big thanks to you all for taking time out to visit my blog, I hope you find the contents here useful.This journey has only just begun and I will do my possible best to keep the fire burning. If you have a recipe you'd like to share, don't hesitate to email me shakaraaunty@gmail.com
  Thanks for your support, thanks for stopping by and I encourage you to keep visiting as it's going to be a joy ride. And oh! If you've got some tips/ suggestions, please email shakaraaunty@gmail.com 
Yaayyyyyyyy! Let's get it started!!

Easy-quickie okra soup

This soup is what should be called 'sharpally, sharpilly things' haha, it doesn't require much, ready within few minutes, don't even get me started on the taste mmmmmmm scrumptious and not forgetting about all the health benefits which is something I'm going to be sharing soon on this blog. There are different ways to cook Okra but this as far as I know is the fastest okra soup ever....mmm...maybe not hehehe, I have my evil grin on yea, I have another quickie Okra soup recipe but that will be story for another time.

What you need:

Achi soup with uziza leaves

   Brachystegia eurycoma, that is the botanical name for this legume we Nigerians know as Achi. Achi is a thickener used in variety of Nigerian soups. In Yoruba, it is known as Eku or Akalado, the Edos call it Dewen and Ijaws call it Apaupan or Akpakpa. Grown mainly in Central and South - eastern region of the country,Achi not only adds its own unique flavour to soups, it also contains protein, carbohydrates and some fat. There's nothing as delightful as Achi cooked with Uziza leaves.

How to make crunchy noodles

  Time for noodles again yayyyy!  Ok, I promised more noodles recipes so, here is me proving true on that with another easy to cook method.

How to make bull eye eggs.

   Think convenient; think egg. Easy to prepare; pleasant on the palate.  Hehehe.
This simple egg recipe with the weirdest name is

How to tell if an egg is bad without cracking the shell

Hands up if you like and eat eggs! Lol, I'm not even going to try guessing how many hands are hanging high right now, my own went up first though  . I particularly like how egg is a rich source

How to make mouth watering noodles.

  Have you ever had one of  those days when you couldn't quite decide what to prepare for dinner or you've just gotten home after a long day and feeling too worn out to go through the stress of cooking yet you must eat something fast or...is it just one of those lazy days? Hehehe Noodles!! Yayy!  Oh yea, I know it sounds boring but trust me I've got your back on this one. There are so many ways to make noodles taste heavenly, I'm going to share some of them with you and best of all, it's a quick fix.

Laugh off on these dirtiezzzz

  Lol! I just couldn't resist sharing these pictures. Toss aside your  worries and have yourself some laughs. More pictures after the jump.

Chops of the day

  Hehehe (shinning teeth and sticking out tongue) Lol! I'm  sure you already know what the heading is all about. Chops yes, food. I'm  one helluva foodie so every once in a while I'm going to be sharing some of the delicacies  that makes my tongue go hallelujah : )) today, I will start out with Kimchi and if you're a Korean series addict like me you will know Kimchi is a staple dish in Korea. Yes, the Koreans don't do without it, very  traditional. So, I came across these Kimchi pictures  and tell you what, na long throat things haha. I'm running off to go make me some. Enjoy more pictures after the jump ; )

Wow! check this.

  I looooove me some Dior. So, here is a  preview of Dior ready- to - wear spring- summer 2015 fashion show. Just give me the bags hehehe. The first pic though lol! Ladies, let me know if you can roll in that.